Officials involved in Peru’s “Vaccinegate” scandal could face jail terms – human rights activist

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The main people involved in the “Vacunagate,” the secret immunization with the Covid-19 vaccine by Peruvian officials, such as ex-president Martin Vizcarra, his relatives and friends, could face up to eight years imprisonment on corruption charges in Peru, according to a well-known activist attorney.

“Undoubtedly, we are facing criminal offenses,” said criminal attorney Carlos Rivera to Efe on Wednesday, before mentioning facts such as incompatible negotiations, extortion, bribery and complicity in corruption of officials, for which the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office has already launched a preliminary investigation.

The most implicated officials in this case, added the jurist, are ex-Ministers of Foreign Affairs – Elizabeth Astete – and of Health – Pilar Mazzetti – as well as ex-president Vizcarra. Another target is Dr. Germán Málaga, director of the Chinese laboratory Sinopharm’s vaccine clinical trials that were conducted in the country.

The “Vacunagate” scandal emerged late last week with the disclosure that Vizcarra had secretly been administered the Sinopharm vaccine, and this week a list of 487 people who were also given the doses was published.

“This case must reach the courts because the illegal act is perfectly clear,” stressed Rivera before recalling that those involved have admitted their participation, although they assure that they made “a mistake,” and “the evidence of the facts is crushing.”

In the case of Astete, Rivera said that not only has she been an official, but she was in charge of the negotiations for the purchase of vaccines, and therefore she could be charged with incompatible negotiation or abuse of office, which is punishable with up to eight years in prison in the country.

The lawyer remarked that in addition to concealing her vaccination, the ex-minister breached the public administration code of ethics and violated the rule establishing that healthcare personnel fighting the pandemic should be vaccinated in the first place.

This same crime may affect other Foreign Ministry officials who were involved in the vaccine negotiation, as well as Ministry of Health (MINSA) officials if they intervened or had decision-making power in the procurement.

CLAIMING BENEFITS

Another group may be charged with the crime of extortion, which refers to a public official’s act of soliciting a benefit, which may or may not be financial, and which is also punishable with up to eight years in prison.

In addition, family members, friends and “guests” who unduly benefited from the vaccine and have admitted that they were administered doses may also be charged.

Among those implicated in the crime could be ex-minister Mazzetti, although if it is confirmed that she was part of the negotiating team, she would be included in the first group “of people in a more aggravated case,” said Rivera.

In the case of ex-president Vizcarra, who has admitted that he was vaccinated together with his wife and his older brother, although he assures that he did it as a volunteer for the clinical trials, Rivera said that he could be charged with the crime of extortion or accused of bribery.

“It seems to me that Vizcarra could not be accused of incompatible negotiation or taking undue advantage of his position because in addition to being president of the Republic, the law of State Contracting establishes that a president does not negotiate anything,” he said.

On the other hand, according to the expert, Malaga should be considered “a private individual”, since the vaccine trial was run by a private university, but he can be included “as an accomplice” in charges of corruption of public officials, which provides for the same penalties as the other crimes.

“Despite the leading role he has played, in a case of corruption of public officials he will surely be considered as a primary accomplice, in the sense that his intervention has been decisive to commit that criminal offense,” he added.

AWAKENING FROM A DARK NIGHT

Lawyer Rivera, who is a renowned human rights advocate in his country, considered this case to be “regrettable and outrageous” and recalled “everything his country has experienced” since the 1990s, with the government of Alberto Fujimori, and the subsequent “reaction of Peru and of the justice system,” up to the current major corruption scandals, such as the Lava Jato case.

“In spite of all this, I believe that Peru has not managed to correct these substantial aspects of how to manage public affairs, how to manage the aspects of the State based on personal matters,” he said.

The attorney added that although in the “Vacunagate” there is no mention of “bribes, or gifts, or hundreds of thousands of dollars handed over to officials” there is “a problem probably as serious as that, which is the undue benefit of officials and of friends and relatives of officials.”

“I believe that Peru was forced to wake up from a very dark night in which we realized that we have virtually wasted two whole decades of fight against corruption, because this seems to be taking us back to a point which suggests that we have not learned anything,” he lamented.

Source: Infobae